Did slain Kiambu woman see her death coming?

The car belonging to the slain Mary Wambui Kamangara who was murdered and her body found dumped in a dam in Juja last Sunday. [Kamau Maichuhie/Standard]

Nearly one month ago, Mary Wambui Kamangara shared a video in which she ominously bid her friends goodbye and extolled them to stick to God.

During the sedate afternoon drive along Thika Road, Wambui, who was playing a popular South African worship song, Nara Ekele Mo (Take My Thanksgiving) by Travis Greene and Tim Godfrey, calmly engaged her followers as she broadcast her journey on Facebook live.

As the song played, she paused to tell her friends and more than 3,000 followers goodbye, adding that they should stick to God, no matter what they went through.

She said: “Cheka tu (just laugh) Sylvia, bye guys. Love this God with all your heart and soul. Don’t lose hope and be patient in everything despite what you are going through in life.”

She continued: “Just stick to God. It’s just a matter of time. There is nothing that lasts forever; just be patient with Him even if it will take seven or 20 years. He has been patient to us. That is my parting shot, bye …”

Facebook timeline

Wambui is now dead and thousands of her followers are trooping back to her Facebook timeline to type “Rest in Peace” and eulogise her.

Her mutilated body was found dumped in a dam near Mugutha estate in Juja on Sunday morning.

Her husband, Joseph Kori Karue, and a woman believed to be Kori’s girlfriend, Judy Wambui Mungai, have since been arrested in connection with the murder.

Meanwhile, Wambui’s missing Mercedes C200 was yesterday found abandoned at Kwa Maiko trading centre in Githunguri, Kiambu County.

Became suspicious

Residents said they became suspicious of the car, which was parked at the shopping centre Sunday morning.

“When we woke up on Sunday, we found the car parked here. At first we did not have any suspicions. However, after the car stayed here for three days, we became suspicious and alerted the police,” said a resident.

Officers from the nearby Ngewa police post towed the car to the station. Scene-of-crime officers, led by Juja DCIO Obed Kioo, later visited the site where the car was found.

Mr Kioo said police were also looking for a taxi driver who was said to have chickened out after he was asked to ferry Wambui’s body.

He also indicated that Wambui’s house girl had recorded a statement.

Before her death, Wambui operated hardware stores at Kahawa West.

On Tuesday, investigating officer Cornelius Arwasa told Kiambu Senior Principal Magistrate Stella Atambo that Karue and Mungai should be detained for more days for him to complete investigations into the killing.

Mr Arwasa told the court that blood-stained clothes had been recovered from Mungai’s rented house at Fourways estate on Kiambu Road.

He said they were yet to conduct a postmortem examination on Wambui’s body and record statements from key witnesses.

Arwasa said detectives needed to retrieve mobile data from mobile service providers. He said the data was crucial in the investigation.

He said they were yet to forward blood swabs and the clothes collected from Mungai’s house for DNA analysis.

The magistrate ruled that the suspects be held for 14 days and directed the detective handling the case to update the court on the progress of investigations on February 13.